The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. This week, the influential R.C. Sproul passed on.

R.C. Sproul

I was sad to hear this news: Theologian and religious broadcaster R.C. Sproul dies at 78. I credit Sproul with helping me to understand the difference between ethics and morals with this simple statement: “Ethics are what you ought to do; Morals are what you do.” When I heard that, the light suddenly clicked on. It was not possible to have bad ethics because the standard is set by God. It was, however, entirely possible to have bad morals. In fact, morals in conflict with the ethical standard set by God are bad morals.

Manual Air Pump

SurvivalBlog reader J.M wrote in about shelters. He’s seen pictures of 1950s bomb shelters that had hand cranked air pumps and was wondering if readers knew where he could obtain such a mechanism. Please comment if you know of a good supplier.

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Preparedness Notes for Saturday – December 16, 2017

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December 16th, 1928, was the birthday of Philip K. Dick, who died March 2, 1982. He penned a remarkable number of sci-fi novels and novellas that have been adapted into movies, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, Screamers, Impostor, Minority Report, Paycheck, A Scanner Darkly, Next, and The Adjustment Bureau. Though he had a troubled personal life (with drug use and several failed marriages), his captivating books certainly had a knack for envisioning potential futures.

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Acquiring Small Game Quietly- Part 1, by S.D.

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In the event of TEOTWAWKI, procuring food, including acquiring small game, can be not only a benefit and a help making supplies last longer, but it can also be a lifesaving ability. Small game is prevalent just about everywhere until the hunting pressure is on and then it disappears. I have seen this first hand on our small six-acre lot. We hunted the rabbits on the property one year with our archery equipment, and although the rabbits won overall, we harvested a few, or two, over the course of the season.

Visible Rabbit Population Decline

Despite our inability to make a dent in the overall population, the rabbit population on our property seems to have declined substantially. This decline could be attributed to a rise in predator population, but I think it is more directly related to the pressure we applied during hunting season. The neighbors properties still have plenty of rabbits, and I can see them hopping around during the day in many areas. They seem to be as plentiful as ever, and yet our property didn’t contain any that I was aware of.

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Letter: What are Your Daily Prayers as a Survivalist?

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Dear Hugh,

I would like to know what Daily prayers are from the readers, including their wording. I am also interested in the Editor’s response, including JWR himself as I believe this will greatly assist fellow readers in the times ahead, including myself. Thank you, – M.S.

HJL’s Comment:

Daily prayers are a highly personal thing and your approach to it will generally reflect your background. On one side of the spectrum some use rote memorized prayers. On the other side, some use free form prayers of whatever comes to mind. Many use a combination where perhaps certain phrases are rote and are filled in by whatever is on the person’s mind.

While I used to participate in mostly free form prayer (and still do at times during the day) I have adopted a much more structured approach which helps me make the time that I need with God. I have borrowed the Jewish practice of praying three times a day based upon Deuteronomy 11:19

“…and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

I then use the Lord’s prayer as a model:  Matthew 6:9-13

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

I do not just repeat that prayer, but structure my prayer after it. I do it in this order:

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The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. Cyber Security is again front and center as we learn of some of the hacks over the last year.

Cyber Security

Wired Magazine has a fascinating article on how three bored college students concocted a scam to give them an advantage in the game of MineCraft. But the software that they wrote, which basically attacked their competitor’s servers, was so effective, it set new records for Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. At its heart, it simply co-opted IoT (Internet of Things) hardware that had not had its default access passwords changed. However, it was so efficient that it was able to infect over 600,000 simultaneous devices at any one time and achieve bandwidth rates of over 1.1 Terabytes. By comparison, the previous known record was about 50 Gigabytes. It managed to take down one of the largest Internet providers in the U.S. last year, leaving much of the east coast with very spotty Internet connectivity.

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Hackers halted Schneider Electric SE plant operations in a cyber attack. SurvivalBlog reader M.P. notes: “While this particular attack seems to have been at a site in the Middle East, the software involved is used widely in the energy industry. The article warns of the likelihood of copy cat attacks elsewhere, but I think it is more likely that others will use this as a stepping stone to even more damaging types of attacks, not just more of the same. A successful attack on some generation parts of the energy grid would be bad. A successful attack on others, such as nuclear plants, could be even more catastrophic, depending on what other actions are part of a particular hack.”

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Preparedness Notes for Friday – December 15, 2017

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December 15th is Bill of Rights Day. (The Bill of Rights became law on this day in 1791, following ratification by the state of Virginia.) We encourage our American readers to gather publicly and read the Bill of Rights aloud.

The 15th of December, 1923, was the birth day of Uziel “Uzi” Gal (born Gotthard Glas). According to Wikipedia, he was “…born in Weimar, Germany. When the Nazis came to power in 1933 he moved first to England and later, in 1936, to Kibbutz Yagur in the British Mandate of Palestine where he changed his name to Uziel Gal. In 1943, he was arrested for illegally carrying a gun and sentenced to six years in prison. However, he was pardoned and released in 1946, serving less than half of his sentence.” He is, of course, remembered as the inventor of the famous Uzi submachine gun and the short-lived Ruger MP9 (an improvement to the Uzi). Uzi Gal is not to be confused with Israel Galili, the chief weapons designer for Israeli Military Industries (IMI), who along with Yaacov Lior designed the Galil improvement to the AK-47.

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Thoughts on Hunting for Survival, by Ohio Country Man

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Hunting for survival is a topic on my mind. I ran into an old coworker and his wife while volunteering at the local food bank the day before Thanksgiving. While exchanging pleasantries, his wife mentioned that she had heard we lived on a farm well outside the city. It’s not really a working farm, I explained, but more like a hobby farm on a lot of acreage.

Our Acres Down the Road in the Country

My wife and I have plans to use most of our 15 acres down the road, but with two small children we have neither the time nor the money to realize most of them currently. Still, we have our big garden, our wood heat, and our chickens. We’re not completely off the grid, but we’re as far out into the country as we can get while still maintaining employment and family obligations. We love the clean air, the privacy, and living closer to nature. We regularly see all kinds of wildlife you would never see in the city or the ‘burbs.

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Light One Candle

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Happy Hanukkah!

We are hoping our Jewish and Messianic friends are having a bright and peaceful Hanukkah!

We are currently in the third of eight days of Hanukkah, a celebration of the re-dedication of the Temple at the time of the Maccabean revolt after Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrated it during the Seleucid empire’s occupation of the Holy Land. Much of the Maccabean story is about fighting against assimilation into a pagan culture.We can certainly understand this concept today. This video is Benny Friedman’s rendition of Peter, Paul, and Mary’s “Light One Candle” in memory of that victory.

John 10:22-30

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Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on Bitcoin investing strategy.

Precious Metals:

Asian Metals Market Update: December-14-2017

 

Stock Markets:

S&P 500 buybacks up 15% in the third quarter as Apple buying spree continues

 

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Preparedness Notes for Thursday – December 14, 2017

December 14th is the birthday of the late John Warren Wadleigh (born 1927, died September 24, 2013). Wadleigh was better known to many SurvivalBlog readers by his pen name– Oliver Lange. He was the author of the best-selling resistance warfare novel Vandenberg.

This is also the birthday of Air Force General James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle, who died September 27, 1993.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 74 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value), and
  8. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
  6. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 74 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

The Hidden Danger of Grain Storage, by Z.H.

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Is there an unseen danger in food storage that could render you and your family with serious health conditions when the end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI) hits? I believe the answer to this important question is yes, and as I sincerely attempt to show you why, I ask that you read this article to its end and weigh it carefully.

Glyphosate– The Most Used Weed Killer in the World

Round Up, also known by its chemical name glyphosate, is the most used weed killer in the world. Its maker, Monsanto, claims that it is harmless. However, new research is coming out that it is far from harmless.

Before I start to explain the above statement, let me say that I am not a doctor or a professor or an authority on medicine. I have benefited from the work of Dr. Stephanie Seneff of MIT and Dr. Peter Osborne, expert in clinical nutrition, especially regarding gluten issues. They have researched for over a decade on the effects of glyphosate. I have been effected by gluten and glyphosate, and I know what it can and will do if you eat it. This article is written to inform and warn about the dangers of this poison.

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Letter: A Raspberry Pi Computer is Recommended Gear

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Hugh,
Consider setting aside one or more Raspberry Pi 3 computers. They run on 5v and have a complete operating system with compilers, web browser, word processor, spreadsheet, database, etc. Combine with references on USB drives and we are much more quickly on our way back to civilization. Note: The Raspberry Pi needs a USB keyboard, USB mouse and any screen that takes HDMI for human interface. You do not need a keyboard to run it as a server (web server, file server, communications device, etc.) Applications to connect to the server, control it and program it are available for Android and iPhone (phone service is not needed, the Raspberry Pi can be the Wi-Fi server for the phone to connect). Essential – make sure you have set the device up how you want to use it and have tested it in your End of the World configuration before you need it. – T.R.